Amid Indian attacks: Doctors volunteer en masse after PIMA’s emergency appeal

ISLAMABAD: Dozens of Pakistani doctors, surgeons, and healthcare professionals volunteered their services on Saturday following an emergency appeal by the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), as Indian air strikes targeted military and civilian installations across Pakistan.

The rapid mobilisation came during heightened regional hostilities, with PIMA activating its national response network and offering free treatment to all war-related casualties.

Prof. Dr. Atif Hafeez Siddiqui, Central President of PIMA, confirmed that the association received an overwhelming response from medical professionals. “Surgeons, trauma specialists, anesthesiologists and doctors from other disciplines have come forward from across the country to serve the nation,” he said, adding that dozens had already signed up via PIMA’s emergency registration platform by Friday afternoon.

PIMA also formally offered free medical treatment to both civilians and military personnel injured during the attacks. Two of its hospitals in Muzaffarabad—Kashmir Surgical Hospital and PIMA Al-Hijri Hospital—were designated for this purpose and equipped to handle trauma and surgical emergencies.

Even though a ceasefire was agreed between Pakistan and India later in the evening, Prof. Siddiqui said that PIMA’s emergency medical teams and hospitals remain on high alert. “This truce is fragile, and we are keeping our response infrastructure fully operational,” he emphasised.

Letters of cooperation and readiness from PIMA were also sent to the Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, Army Surgeon General Lt Gen Arshad Naseem, and provincial health authorities in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

PIMA’s efforts, along with the response from the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA), the appeal by Capital Hospital, and the NEOC activation, reflect a growing national resolve to face any health emergency with unity, professionalism, and humanitarian commitment.

In Karachi, the SBTA declared an emergency in all public and private sector blood banks across the province, given the evolving threat.

In an official communication to district health officers, SBTA Secretary Dr. Dur-e-Naz Jamal directed all blood banks to ensure sufficient stock of blood and essential products and remain operational under emergency protocols.

“All district focal persons are to coordinate closely to meet any blood demand arising during the emergency,” the circular stated. Districts across Sindh—including Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, and Shaheed Benazirabad—were placed on high alert.

In Islamabad, Prof. Dr. Naeem Taj, Executive Director of Capital Hospital, made a heartfelt public appeal for blood donations, urging healthy citizens to come forward and donate blood to ensure timely treatment of any potential victims of conflict. “Our hospitals must be ready, and for that, we need voluntary blood donors urgently,” he said.

On the other hand, the Ministry of National Health Services activated the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) to coordinate the health sector’s national-level response.

Dr. Mumtaz Ali Khan, from the National Institute of Health (NIH), has asked all major hospitals in Islamabad to immediately designate focal persons to coordinate with the NEOC for rapid medical deployment and real-time data sharing. The NEOC will serve as the hub for managing medical logistics, treatment planning, and trauma preparedness in the wake of any further escalation.